_Mr. Washington; Friends, and Pupils of Tuskegee Institute_:
To the white population as well as to the black, it is of the utmost
importance that the negro be encouraged to make himself a citizen
of the highest type of usefulness. It is to the interest of the
white people that this policy be conscientiously pursued, and to the
interest of the colored people that they clearly realize that they
have opportunities for economic development here in the South not
now offered elsewhere. Within the last twenty years the industrial
operations of the South have increased so tremendously that there is a
scarcity of labor almost everywhere; so that it is the part of wisdom
for all who wish the prosperity of the South to help the negro to
become in the highest degree useful to himself, and therefore to the
community in which he lives. The South has always depended, and now
depends, chiefly upon her native population for her work. Therefore
in view of the scarcity not only of common labor, but of skilled
labor, it becomes doubly important to train every available man to
be of the utmost use, by developing his intelligence, his skill, and
his capacity for conscientious effort. Hence the work of the Tuskegee
Normal and Industrial Institute is a matter of the highest practical
importance to both the white man and the black man, and well worth
the support of both races alike in the South and in the North. Your
fifteen hundred students are not only being educated in head and heart,
but also trained to industrial efficiency, for from the beginning
Tuskegee has placed especial emphasis upon the training of men and
women in agriculture, mechanics, and household duties, Training in
these three fundamental directions does not embrace all that the negro,
or any other race, needs, but it does cover in a very large degree
the field in which the negro can at present do most for himself and
be most helpful to his white neighbors. Every black man who leaves
this institute better able to do mechanical or industrial work adds
by so much to the wealth of the whole community and benefits all
people in the community. The professional and mercantile avenues to
success are overcrowded; for the present the best chance of success
awaits the intelligent worker at some mechanical trade or on a farm;
for this man will almost certainly achieve industrial independence. I
am pleased, but not in the least surprised, to learn that many among
the men and women trained at Tuskegee find immediate employment as
leaders and workers among their own people, and that their services
are eagerly sought by white people for various kinds of industrial
work, the demand being much greater than the supply. Viewed from any
angle, ignorance is the costliest crop that can be raised in any part
of this Union. Every dollar put into the education of either white man
or black man, in head, in hand, and in heart, yields rich dividends to
the entire community. Merely from the economic standpoint it is of the
utmost consequence to all our citizens that institutions such as this
at Tuskegee should be a success. But there are other and even higher
reasons that entitle it to our support. In the interest of humanity, of
justice, and of self-protection, every white man in America, no matter
where he lives, should try to help the negro to help himself. It is in
the interest and for the protection of the white man to see that the
negro is educated. It is not only the duty of the white man, but it is
to his interest, to see that the negro is protected in property, in
life, and in all his legal rights. Every time a law is broken, every
individual in the community has the moral tone of his life lowered.
Lawlessness in the United States is not confined to any one section;
lynching is not confined to any one section; and there is perhaps no
body of American citizens who have deserved so well of the entire
American people as the public men, the publicists, the clergymen,
the countless thousands of high-minded private citizens, who have
done such heroic work in the South in arousing public opinion against
lawlessness in all its forms, and especially against lynching. I very
earnestly hope that their example will count in the North as well as
in the South, for there are just as great evils to be warred against
in one region of our country as in another, though they are not in all
places the same evils. And when any body of men in any community stands
bravely for what is right, these men not merely serve a useful purpose
in doing the particular task to which they set themselves, but give a
lift to the cause of good citizenship throughout the Union. I heartily
appreciate what you have done at Tuskegee; and I am sure you will not
grudge my saying that it could not possibly have been done save for the
loyal support you have received from the white people round about; for
during the twenty-five years of effort to educate the black man here
in the midst of a white community of intelligence and culture, there
has never been an outbreak between the races, or any difficulty of any
kind. All honor is due to the white men of Alabama, to the white men
of Tuskegee, for what they have done. And right here let me say that
if in any community a misunderstanding between the races arises, over
any matter, infinitely the best way out is to have a prompt, frank
and full conference and consultation between representatives of the
wise, decent, cool-headed men among the whites and the wise, decent,
cool-headed colored men. Such a conference will always tend to bring
about a better understanding, and will be a great help all round.
Hitherto I have spoken chiefly of the obligations existing on the part
of the white man. Now let you remember on the other hand that no help
can permanently avail you save as you yourselves develop capacity for
self-help. You young colored men and women educated at Tuskegee must
by precept and example lead your fellows toward sober, industrious,
law-abiding lives. You are in honor bound to join hands in favor of
law and order and to war against all crime, and especially against
all crime by men of your own race; for the heaviest wrong done by the
criminal is the wrong to his own race. You must teach the people of
your race that they must scrupulously observe any contract into which
they in good faith enter, no matter whether it is hard to keep or not.
If you save money, secure homes, become taxpayers, and lead clean,
decent, modest lives, you will win the respect of your neighbors of
both races. Let each man strive to excel his fellows only by rendering
substantial service to the community in which he lives. The colored
people have many difficulties to pass through, but these difficulties
will be surmounted if only the policy of reason and common-sense is
pursued. You have made real and great progress. According to the census
the colored people of this country own and pay taxes upon something
like three hundred million dollars’ worth of property, and have blotted
out over fifty per cent of their illiteracy. What you have done in the
past is an indication of what you will be able to accomplish in the
future under wise leadership. Moral and industrial education is what is
most needed, in order that this progress may continue. The race can not
expect to get everything at once. It must learn to wait and bide its
time; to prove itself worthy by showing its possession of perseverance,
of thrift, of self-control. The destiny of the race is chiefly in its
own hands, and must be worked out patiently and persistently along
these lines. Remember also that the white man who can be of most use
to the colored man is that colored man’s neighbor. It is the Southern
people themselves who must and can solve the difficulties that exist
in the South; of course what help the people of the rest of the Union
can give them must and will be gladly and cheerfully given. The hope
of advancement for the colored man in the South lies in his steady,
common-sense effort to improve his moral and material condition, and
to work in harmony with the white man in upbuilding the Commonwealth.
The future of the South now depends upon the people of both races
living up to the spirit and letter of the laws of their several States
and working out the destinies of both races, not as races, but as
law-abiding American citizens.